Derpy's Epic Quest
by Steeven Lee
Summary: After running to the Everfree Forest, sick of all the name-calling and mocking they constantly have to put up with, Derpy and Dinky stumble into another world. There, they find an ancient evil which, unless it's stopped, will destroy all of Equestria. Can they defeat it? Or will their own self-doubt overcome them and cause them to fail?
1. Derpy and Dinky

**I: Derpy and Dinky**

The rooster crows as the brilliant, orange sunbeams shine down upon the small town of Ponyville.

While the sleepy village prepares for the day, the heroine of this particular tale is just waking up. Inside of her simple home is a bedroom in which she is lying in bed, rubbing the grogginess out of her eyes. She moves her hoofs away from them, revealing two golden irises, one pointing one direction and another pointing a different direction. Yawning and stretching, the grey-coated pegasus with a blond mane flops out of bed with a _thud._

"Woops," she says with a giggle as she stands up.

Dusting herself off, she walks over to a mirror in her circular room. She looks left, then right, and then back to the mirror. She makes a couple of funny faces in it, giggling while she does so. The pegasus then continues on with her morning routine. She bites the handle of the drawer beneath her mirror and pulls a little, grunting with effort.

It's stuck.

She pulls and pulls again.

Nothing.

Scowling at the drawer and determined to open it, she heaves one more time. The drawer suddenly gives way and the winged pony goes flying backwards into the wall on the other side of her room, yanking the drawer out of its place in the process. She slams up against the wall with a thud. Birds can be heard chirping merrily as she recovers from this tumble. She shakes her head and then looks at the mess all around her.

The contents of the drawer have spilled all around. About twenty brown muffins are scattered all about the pegasus, who smiles happily. Licking her lips, she grabs some and scarfs them down with ease. The others she picks up and places in a big brown cloth bag for later.

Then she trots over to her bedroom door and opens it, whistling a little as she steps into her living room, where a couch and a rug sit. On the couch are three items: a note, a hat and a bag of mail. She sets down her bag of muffins on the couch and then squints at the note lying next to it, trying to read what it says. Something about "Dear Mommy" and "All ready at school"...

...Hmm. Oh well! The grey pegasus chucks the note off to the side, unconcerned with mothers of deers and the red schools that they go to. Whistling a familiar tune to herself, the mare puts on her mail cap. Smiling proudly, she is about to pick up the bag of mail when...

...oh.

There are two brown bags on the couch, but she only needs one! Hmm. One has mail, the other has muffins. How to find out which one has which?

Mail...

...or Muffins?

Hmm. Our grey-haired heroine looks sternly at the two bags, trying to decide which one she's supposed to take. How on Earth is she going to find out which bag has the mail in it?

It's at this point that she hears the town bells ringing! It's 9:00! She'll be late for her job!

The pegasus grabs a bag and darts through her front door at full speed.

In the living room, the breeze caused by her taking off sends a single letter floating gently out of the mailbag, which is lying on her couch.

* * *

Later on, in the post-office, our heroine is just returning from her first round of mailing. It's funny – everypony in town had ordered muffins today! How strange. It was tempting to eat a couple of them, but this grey pegasus is a pegasus of honor! And that means giving everyone their mail on time...

...even if they all ordered delicious brown muffins. Of course, it would have helped if they had put their addresses on the muffins. She had to look carefully at each muffin and decide which pony or unicorn or pegasus would have ordered a muffin like that. The whole process took twice as long as it should have!

The things she goes through to deliver the mail. Why, all of Ponyville would fall apart without someone like-

"Derpy Hooves!"

Derpy turns around to see her boss, the head of the post office, walking up to her. The brown-haired unicorn is wearing a red tie, blue post-office vest, and a blue mailing cap.

"Hello, Mister Mailbags, sir!" Derpy says as she closes her eyes, beams, and proudly salutes.

"Derpy, what is this?"

Derpy looks at what the unicorn is floating out in front of her with his magic horn. It's crumpled, brown, powdery...

"Why, it's a squashed muffin, sir!"

"Mrs. Truffles found it in her mailbox this morning. She's just returned it to me. You are the only one of our mail-horses scheduled to go by her house today."

"Yup. Is there a problem? 'Cause if she wants me to send it back to the muffin factory, then she's got a problem. That muffin looks _delicious_, even if it is a bit squashed. And besides..."

Ignoring the look of shock on her superior's face, Derpy snatches the muffin out of the air and takes a bite out of what's left of the crumpled bread.

"...she didn't even put a return address on it. Some ponies, I'm tellin' ya."

Just as Derpy is about to reach in for another bite, her boss swipes the mashed muffin away and chucks it into a nearby trash can. He then uses his magic to take Derpy by the head, squishing her cheeks a little, and turn her face-to-face with him.

"Derpy, are you listening to me?"

She nods slightly, creating a funny sight between her squished cheeks, crossed eyes, and puffed out lips. Mr. Mailbags sighs in frustration.

"This is the third time this has happened this year. You keep switching up the mail, misplacing it, _replacing it with muffins_, and there was even that one time that Twilight Sparkle woke up to find her mailbox missing!"

Derpy gasps. This is news to her. She speaks between her squished face again.

"Really? Where was it?"

The post master looks a little more crossly at Derpy.

"You had put it _inside _of the _mayor's mailbox._"

Derpy suddenly remembers the incident and lets out a nervous chuckle. Her eyes betray her worry, though, as they sadden a little.

"Oh. Yeah. I... ...yeah."

Mr. Mailbags releases Derpy from his magic grip. She nervously looks at the ground, well aware that she's in for a scolding.

"What am I going to do with you, Derpy? We can't have this kind of stuff keep happening. Do you do realize how costly it can be if you mess up at just the right time? Why, if someone were to have spent all day or even all their_life _working on a project of some sort and they mess up just one little step, then the entire thing falls apart! All because of one little mistake. All that progress. Gone. Just like-"

He makes a little wavy motion with his hooves and then takes a deep breath. He looks up at Derpy.

"Derpy, I'm sorry. But this just can't go on any longer."

Derpy looks at him in fear. What's he going to do? Is she going to be grounded from muffins for a _month?_

She whimpers at the thought. Her boss scowls at her and, straightening up, pronounces her deathly punishment.

"You're fired."

...

...It takes a moment for his words to sink in. Fired? But not grounded from muffins? Wait...

...fired?

...

...that's all?

...

...huh...

...

_Oh no!_

Suddenly it hits Derpy like a two-ton door! She dives down and begins begging Mr. Mailbags.

"Oh, please, Mister Mailbags, sir! Please don't! This is my life! It's my talent! It's my special gift! See?"

The distressed pegasus shoves her butt up into the air, gesturing at her cutie mark - several various-sized bubbles.

"What do bubbles have to do with _delivering mail,_Derpy?"

Derpy quickly sits back down, a little embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, but we've been over this before. Your clumsiness is too much of a trouble. It's causing problems day after day after day, and we simply can't take any more damage. My patience for your antics is at its end."

Unable to take it anymore, Derpy resorts to begging.

"B-but this is the only job I have! How else am I going to earn money? This is the only one that will take me! The Cakes say my cooking gives people food poisoning, the newspaper says I'm too messy with ink, and the lumber mill just won't hire me! You gotta let me stay! And besides, I have-"

But Mr. Mailbags has made up his mind.

"Derpy, I've made up my mind. I'll give you until noon to pack your bags and turn in your hat."

Later on, just after noontime, two pegasi are flying up in the clouds, having a chat. The two are none other than Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy.

* * *

"So you're sure that everything's ready?"

"Almost. I just gotta hang up the sign on the town hall."

"Good. I can't wait! I'm so excited for Apple Jack."

"Me too. It's going to be _awesome!_I hope she shows all those other rodeo clowns how it's done."

"Well, I just..."

Suddenly, Fluttershy stops talking mid-sentence and perks her ears up.

"Rainbow Dash, do you hear that?"

"Hear wha-"

"Shh!"

Rainbow Dash glares briefly at her friend and then perks her ears up as well. She listens and listens and...

"I don't hear anything."

Fluttershy reduces her voice to even more of a whisper than it already is.

_"Over there, in that big cloud bank."_

The two listen more carefully this time. Rainbow Dash suddenly widens her eyes. She can hear it, too. Somepony is crying up a storm over there! Literally. There is a ton of rain pouring out of the cloud bank, accompanied by occasional bursts of thunder and lightning.

The two pegasi fly up to investigate. They float over the mountainous rim and peer down into the bowl-like shape of the clouds to see Derpy lying right in the middle of it, her head buried in the fluffy surface, sobbing and sobbing and sobbing.

The two land on the cloud bank and walk up to Derpy. Fluttershy gently taps her on the shoulder.

"D-D... ...Derpy? Are you okay?"

Our gloomy heroine pops her head out of the cloud bank and turns to face the other two, who are taken aback by the tearful face that greets them.

"Oh. H-H-Hi, Fluttershy. Hi, Rainbow Dash."

She stares at them with her misaligned eyes for a brief moment, her lip quivers, and then she bursts into crying again. She blows her nose against the cloud bank, jolting the whole thing and causing another monumental burst of thunder and lightning.

"What's eating you, Derpy?" Rainbow Dash asks.

Derpy looks up and sniffs a little.

"Wh-Wh-What? N-Nothing's eating me. I don't think so, at least. Oh my gosh! _Is something really eating me? Oh no!_"

Derpy begins frantically running around in circles on the fluffy cloud, terrified for her life.

"Get it off! Get it-"

Rainbow Dash grabs her friend and sets her down.

"Nothing's eating you, Derpy. It's a figure of speech."

Derpy looks confused, not exactly sure of how you could create a figure out of speech. Do they make action figures out of speech now?

Rainbow Dash, seeing where this is going, rolls her eyes and speaks again.

"Nevermind. Why are you crying, Derpy? What's wrong?"

Derpy looks down, trying to think. What was it she was crying about? She takes a moment as her one-tracked mind tries finding its way back to why she was crying.

Her cockeyed expression widens with shock as she remembers what happened today. Tears fill her eyes again, and she bursts into another bawling fit. She slams her face down against the clouds and pounds her hoof against it several times, causing a huge downpour to erupt onto the unsuspecting town below.

"Hey! Snap out of it!"

Rainbow Dash picks up her friend under her arms and shakes her once or twice. Derpy sniffs and frowns, tears still in her eyes. She plops down onto the cloud again, sending one last faint burst of thunder through it.

She looks up at her two friends and speaks, sadness still saturating her voice.

"M-M-Mr. Mailbags fired me today."

Fluttershy gasps in shock.

"He did?"

Derpy sullenly nods.

"Wouldn't surprise me," Rainbow Dash mutters under her breath.

This remark earns her a brief glare from Fluttershy. Fortunately, Derpy didn't hear what Rainbow Dash had said. Fluttershy turns back to their unfortunate friend, patting her on the back.

"That's just awful, Derpy. Is there anything we can do for you?"

Derpy just sniffs in response, too sad to say anything.

"If you want, I can see if the Cakes could make some muffins."

Derpy still doesn't speak, too mournful to care about muffins. She just slouches over and stares at the cloud that she's sitting on.

Fluttershy is concerned for her friend. Derpy is almost _always _in the mood for muffins. She must have really liked that job. Too bad there isn't another for her to do...

...Suddenly, Fluttershy's face brightens up as she gets an idea! She looks down at Derpy.

"Hey, Derpy! How would you like to help Rainbow Dash decorate the town hall today?"

"Excuse me?" Says Rainbow Dash. Her comment goes unnoticed again by Derpy, who smiles through her tears at the blue-haired pegasus.

"R-Really? You want me to help you, Rainbow Dash?"

Rainbow looks like she's about to object, but then gets another scornful look from Fluttershy. Not wanting to cause any more hurt, and knowing it's for the best, she gives in. Smiling, Rainbow Dash happily invites Derpy to help.

"Sure. Why not? I mean - I just need to hang up a banner. It would be really _useful _if you could join in and help me."

"Oh thank you, Rainbow Dash! Thank you thank you thank you thank you!"

Derpy lunges at Rainbow Dash who, caught unawares, is sent flying backwards as the two pegasi tumble out of the cloud bank.

Looking over the edge, Fluttershy gasps in fear.

"Oh my."

They are both plummeting straight towards the town hall.

Derpy is hugging Rainbow Dash, who is unable to open her wings because of her friend's death grip. Rainbow Dash screams at the top of her lungs.

"Derpy! Let go! You're going to get us _killed!_"

But Derpy is too overjoyed to notice the current predicament that she's caused.

"Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you..."

Rainbow Dash looks down at the town hall, which is getting alarmingly closer. She closes her eyes, bracing for impact.

In the town hall itself, Major (the mayor of the town) is speaking with Apple Jack, the orange-coated land pony who is about to leave town for a rodeo in Canterlot, Equestria's finest and largest city.

"As the Mayor of Ponyville, I would like to personally wish you luck on behalf of our town, Apple Jack."

"Why thank you kindly, ma'am."

"I just know that you will represent our town wonderfully among all the other cities competing."

"Shucks, I'll do my best. I've been training an awful lot for this, y'know. Speakin' of which, I'd best get back to it for one last run-through. My sis' wanted to see me train."

Apple Jack takes off her hat to the mayor and smiles.

"Of course" The mayor replies, "Good day, Apple Jack."

_"...thank you thank you thank you thank you..."_

Apple Jack looks confused.

"Beg your pardon?"

Major is equally as confused.

"What? I didn't say anything."

The two look around, wondering where the faint "...thank you thank you thank you..." is coming from. They exchange a weird look and then turn their heads to the ceiling.

_"...thank you thank you_thank you thank you..."

They each gasp in shock as they hear a loud crash, another, and then the explosive sound of wood snapping. This is followed by another smashing noise and then...

The ceiling breaks open as two objects fall in through the roof in a grey and blue blur! Dust and debris is scattered everywhere, along with some leaves and splintered pieces of wood. Apple Jack coughs as some dust gets in her mouth.

The air clears, revealing the cause of the mayhem.

Sitting in the middle of the town hall, in a huge crater in the floor, are two pegasi. Rainbow Dash is lying in the middle of the ragged depression, frowning and covered in dust. Right beside her, with leaves and dirt in her mane, is Derpy, who is clinging to Rainbow Dash in a tight hug, still.

"...thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank-"

"Derpy!" Rainbow Dash yells, finally getting the attention of her clumsy friend.

Derpy suddenly opens her misaligned eyes and looks around. There is dust, dirt, and debris everywhere. The town hall is totaled. Several holes are in the ceiling, a wooden beam is sticking out of the wall, and dirt is scattered all over the place.

"Woah!"

Derpy looks at Rainbow Dash, who is scowling.

"Rainbow Dash, you're going to need a lot more help with the _inside _of the townhall than hanging up that silly old banner. Just look at this place!"

Derpy holds her hooves up, gesturing to the disaster as a piece of wood breaks off of a loose beam in the back hall. Rainbow Dash slaps herself in the forehead in frustration.

* * *

Halfway across town, in a small schoolhouse, is the class of Miss Cheerilee. A bunch of young ponies are currently listening (or pretending to listen) to their teacher's lesson on the history of Equestria. Specifically, they are learning (or pretending to learn) about the different inventions that were created to make life easier for the inhabitants of the country.

Almost all the eyes are half-asleep. Several are spaced out, ignoring the lesson. Of all the class, there are only a couple of ponies who are actually paying attention to what's being taught. One of them is none other than a small, greyish purple colored filly whose small horn is poking out of her blonde mane on her round little forehead.

Smiling happily and attentively listening to her teacher's every word, the child isn't aware of the fact that one of her classmates (a pink-haired land horse with a purple-and-white mane) is trying to get her attention.

_"Dinky," _she whispers. Dinky doesn't hear her.

The classmate scowls after eliciting no response. She tries again.

_"Hey! Dinky!"_

Still nothing. Dinky is too focused. Growling a little, she crumples up a paper and chucks it at Dinky's head just as Miss Cheerilee turns back to the chalk-board. The wad of paper hits Dinky lightly, finally getting her attention. Dinky takes one look at the thrower, rolls her eyes in frustration, and quickly whispers to her.

_"What do you want?"_

Seeing that she has the attention of Dinky, the other pony sneers at her.

_"Did you hear about the town hall?"_

Dinky is puzzled.

_"No. What's going on?"_

Her bully of a classmate casts a certain look at Dinky, raising one eyebrow and lowering the other with a smirk on her face.

Dinky knows what that look means.

She closes her eyes in embarrassment and shrinks back into her chair in a vain attempt to hide away from the world. She puts her hooves over her face. Dinky sighs and prepares herself for the verbal abuse that is sure to follow when she whispers this simple question:

_"What did my mom do this time?"_

_"What did she do? That klutz managed to single-handedly wreck town hall,"_ the pink filly cruelly chuckles _"No joke. There are holes all over it and everything!"_

Dinky is horribly embarrassed, but not surprised in the least. Her mother was _always _doing things like this. And it didn't help when Dinky was teased in school for her mother's clumsiness.

_"Oh, come on, Dinky. Lighten up. It's funny."_

No. No it's not. It's embarrassing and sad. Fighting back her anger, Dinky speaks again, moving her hooves away from her eyes but still refusing to make contact with the other's.

_"Oh, it's funny? It's funny that my mom made a fool of herself again? Ha. Ha."_

_"You're just lucky that Apple Jack was willing to donate her prize money to fix what your klutz of a mother broke."_

That did it.

Dinky rises immediately to her poor mother's defense, locking her eyes on the aggressor's and showing just how she feels, all while fighting back the boiling rage inside. She _can't _let her classmate know that her words are hurting her, but she also can't let her just beat up on her mother like that. Angrily, she launches her warning shot in the whispered war of words.

_"Stop calling her a klutz."_

_"Oh. Don't like that, huh?"_

The spoiled brat gets an evil smirk on her face, seeing right through Dinky's disguise of neutrality and knowing that she's affecting her. Unable to resist her childish desires, she pushes Dinky further.

_"How about clumsy? Or an idiot?"_

Blow by blow, piece by piece, she knocks down Dinky's emotional defenses.

_"Or a screw-up? Oh, yeah! A screw-up. Does _that _make you feel better about your klutzy, retarded mother,_Dink?"

Dinky feels the anger reach its maximum point up inside of her, building until she just might explode despite her best attempts to control her heated feelings. Her mother is _not _retarded _or _an idiot! She's just clumsy. Sure, she gets easily distracted sometimes, but who doesn't every now and again? Her mother's not an idiot!

Not satisfied with the pain she's caused so far, though, the bully pushes even further, determined to make Dinky break. It seems to be a game to her. A sick, sadistic game.

_"You know why her eyes are crossed, right? It's from giving birth to a dimwit like_ you! _What _normal_ unicorn is your age and still can't use _magic?"

…Dinky can't help it if she's that way! There's nothing wrong with that!

_"You're both nothing but a pair of _screw-ups _and an _offense_ to Ponyville. It's pretty sad that you-"_

"MY MOMMY IS NOT A SCREW-UP OR A DIMWIT, DIAMOND TIARA, AND I CAN'T HELP IT IF MY HORN DOESN'T WORK! IT'S... ...IT'S THE WAY I WAS B-B-BORN!"

There is utterly stunned silence in the room. Dinky is there, standing on her desk. Tears are now peaking out of her eyes, like figures peering through windows as she stares in hatred at the bully, breathing deeply and trembling with sadness, embarrassment, anger, and fear.

Realizing that everypony, including the teacher, is staring at her, she darts out of the room, leaving behind her school supplies and everything. She takes off down the hall before anyone can say a single word to her. Her faint crying can be heard echoing down the hallway as she leaves the schoolyard.

* * *

As with her mother, Dinky has a problem. She's not clumsy or cross-eyed, but her horn won't work. It doesn't help that the Cakes' kids could already fly _and _use magic. But could Dinky use magic? No. Not Dinky. Of _course _not Dinky. That'd be _too fair!_

She is currently lying under the shade of a tree, curled up into a ball, trying to forget that the world exists. She lies there for what seems like hours as she tries desparately to forget the incident.

It is at this moment that she hears a familiar voice behind her.

"Dinky?"

Dinky tenses and slaps a smile onto her face, trying to remove all evidence that she'd been sad. Then she stands up and faces the pony whom the voice had originated from.

In front of her is Amethyst Star, a pink unicorn with a purple mane. Her violet eyes gaze down at Dinky with the gaze an older sister would give. She's not her older sister, but very well could have been. The two were peas in a pod. In fact, they are so close to being sisters that one time they'd managed to sneak themselves into the Sisterhooves Social as a sibling team. That was probably one of the best days of the year for Dinky.

"Dinky, what's wrong?"

Dinky, trying not to look weak in front of Amethyst, stands proudly and displayes the fake smile like a badge.

"Nothing. I'm fine."

Amethyst isn't buying it.

"Uh-huh. Now when are you going to stop lying and tell me what's happened?"

Dinky contemplates keeping up her mask a little longer, but (knowing it won't work) decides to give in.

"I heard about my mom. And the town hall. I... ...I..."

She sighs.

"Diamond Tiara told me about it. And then she called my mom a klutz and a dimwit! Then she started making fun of me because of..."

She can't say it. She silently buries her head into her arms in shame. Amethyst, knowing that that little brat made fun of Dinky's horn, now seeks to comfort the poor child. "Oh, come here, Dinky."

She gives her sister-in-spirit a brief hug.

"Don't listen to what that spoiled brat says. Ponies who make fun of others are making up for flaws they see in themselves."

Dinky doesn't respond, but one of her ears perks up.

"Let me ask you something, squirt: does she hurt only you?"

Dinky takes her head away from Amethyst's shoulder, thinking. After a moment passes, she responds.

"Well, no. She's mean to everypony."

"Then why listen to her? She doesn't have anything constructive to say to you, so why should you even listen to her insults if all they are is negative criticisms?"

Dinky makes eye contact, pretending to understand what Amethyst is saying.

"I shouldn't," says Dinky, smiling. However, that smile soon turns to a frown. "But it's so hard!" Dinky stands up and begins pacing, trying to drive her point home. "She knows how I feel about my horn and my mommy, so why does she keep insulting me? And it's not just her! Almost all the others have done it at some point! They've all called me "Dink" or "Lame-Horn" and they've all said it runs in my family."

"What does?"

"Being_ useless! _That's what!"

It is at this moment when the town bell rings. Seeing an opportunity to get Dinky's mind away from Diamond Tiara's bad attitude, Amethyst speaks up.

"Hey, Dinky. Apple Jack's sendoff is happening now. Do you wanna go see it with me?"

At this, Dinky's yellow eyes widen in fear.

"No! Oh please, no! The town hall's wrecked and it's all my mommy's fault. We'll both just be a laughing stock."

Amethyst smiles and looks Dinky in the eyes.

"I would never let them make fun of you two."

The two ponies smile at each other and stand up.

* * *

Later on, Derpy is tucking a talkative Dinky into bed, smiling as her little angel tells her all about the time she had at the sendoff.

"And I couldn't believe it when Apple Jack looked at me and said "Ever since I was a little pony!" I looked at the ponies beside me to see if maybe she was talking about someone else, but I was the only filly right there! She was talking to _me!_She knows about my problem, but she cheered me on anyway."

At this, Dinky calms down a little. Slowly, however, her smile drops and a shadow falls over her face. She'd had a great day, but she remembers what Diamond Tiara had said. The words echo in her head:

_'You're both nothing but a pair of screw-ups!'_

Dinky sighs. Amethyst may have tried to cheer her up, but in the end those words were stuck. She might not ever forget them.

"Is something wrong, Dinkster?"

Dinky looks up into the eyes of her concerned mother. Sadness is returning to her heart, like an unwelcome stranger. She can feel it. But she's not going to let her mommy know what Diamond Tiara had said. It would be too much. The two stare at each other for what seems to be an eternity. Suddenly, Dinky lunges forwards and hugs her mother tightly.

It is different than when she had hugged Amethyst Star. Amethyst is more of a general "Adult Figure" in her life, but Derpy is different. Derpy is her mother, and nopony can take that away. No matter how hard they try.

"I love you mommy."

Derpy has to fight back the tears welling up in her eyes as she returns her daughter's embrace. The two ponies stay there, hugging each other for a while. The minutes dissolve into a meaningless time as the only two things that exist in the world are each-other.

"I love you too, Dinky."

For this magical period of time, Derpy forgets about losing her job.

For this magical period of time, Dinky forgets what words had cut her today.

It's as if there's a shield, a sanctuary, an aura of love surrounding the two. They form a wall which blocks out all the hate that the world has to offer. Time has no meaning in this mystical place. Seconds become moments become minutes as the night wears on.

After a while, Derpy realizes that Dinky is gently breathing at a very slow pace.

She has fallen asleep while hugging her.


	2. Just a Klutz

****AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is the last big modification, I promise! I've changed the story twice now and it hasn't come out quite the way I wanted. Recently, the world that Dinky and Derpy wind up in in the previous revision is "the Sixth Realm", a fantasy world i made up. I'll admit that I'm a little greedy and, since I want to write stories and make movies for a living, I decided to NOT include that particular world so I could save it and put it in an actual film/book/story later in life.

I condensed the first few chapters down into two and I have deleted the second one and re-uploaded it so that I could get your attention, since won't let me post author's notes as individual chapters.

Now you're all caught up and, I PROMISE, this is the last time I will delete the chapters and replace the world that Dinky and Derpy go to. Plus, I'm kinda sick of "Human" MLP stories. They aren't very original, in my opinion, and I don't want to resort to such unoriginality. Sorry if this has confused you at all. Like I said: I PROMISE that this is the last time that I will delete chapters and replace them.

**II: Just a Klutz**

A week has gone by since that wonderful moment. During the week, Derpy has been extra careful to hide her unemployment situation from Dinky. If her own daughter were to know, then she'd see her mother the way everypony else sees her: A failure. That simply won't do.

Derpy's not sure how the idea got into her noggin, but rather than telling her daughter the truth when she had the opportunity, she lied to keep safe from this imagined danger.

It had been only the day after she was fired. Dinky had walked into the living room and noticed the mailbag lying on the couch. She had asked her mom why it wasn't at the post-office like usual. Derpy had the chance to tell Dinky the truth, but the thought of her own daughter seeing her as a failure was not a happy one.

Derpy lied to Dinky and pretended that she still had her job. For a week, this lie had worked well, since she had enough food and other supplies to last about a month.

But lies have an uncanny way of being discovered rather quickly, especially between two souls as close as Dinky and Derpy.

* * *

Wearing a lopsided chef's hat, Derpy is in the kitchen, humming happily and trying to make some muffins. There is powdery flour all over the counter, chocolate chips scattered all about the floor, and a gallon of milk spilled on the table behind her.

Derpy is stirring the mix furiously, with a determined look in her misaligned eyes and her tongue sticking out of the side of her frowning mouth, which is still humming a happy tune. She's been at it for several minutes, but the muffin batter isn't becoming soft enough! She'd read the directions, too:

*Two cups of muffin mix*

That's just what she put in! She'd grabbed two nearby measuring cups, filled them to the right measurement (one cup each) with muffin mix, and chucked them into the bowl.

Currently, the two cups are clanging about inside the gooey mix filled with water, milk, and chocolate chips as Derpy continues to stir, unwavering in her efforts to make muffins before Dinky gets home. After a while more, the grey-coated pegasus decides that she's probably stirred enough.

Setting down the wooden spoon and picking up the plastic bowl, she walks carefully over to a muffin-pan, trying not to spill the mix. Unfortunately, a white puddle of milk has spread all over the floor. Derpy steps right into the milk, causing her to slip backwards and land right on her back.

She looks straight up in the air and sees the bowl of muffin mix falling down and rushing to hug her face with its sticky contents.

_Splat!_

"Ow!"

Derpy sits up, causing her chef's hat to fall of, and wipes some of the mix off of her eyes so that she can see. Sticky muffin mix and chocolate chips are everywhere, the bowl is lying on its side, and the muffin tray has clattered off to the left, next to the two cups which Derpy had put inside of the mix.

Derpy despondently frowns at the mess, realizing that she's failed again. Can she do anything right?

Just then, she hears the front door open.

Her frown is replaced with a smile as she licks off some of the mix and stands up. Dinky's home! Walking over to the living room with a cheerful expression (and some goop plastered on her face), Derpy greets her daughter happily.

"Hey-a Dinkster! How'd school-"

She stops mid-sentence as she sees the young unicorn. If looks could kill, Derpy would be missing her head right now. Dinky is scowling at her mother with an intense look of hurt and anger. What had happened? Was Dinky bullied? Is this because of the muffin mix all over the kitchen?

"What's wrong, Dinky?"

The filly chucks her schoolbag off to the side of the couch. Then, with an accusing tone, says, "When were you going to tell me?"

Derpy is confused. The pegasus leans down to her daughter, concerned.

"Tell you about what?"

"About losing your job."

Oh no. Not Dinky, too! Her own daughter? No. She musn't know the truth! She musn't find out that she's failed again! Derpy desperately tries to cover up. She slaps on a fake smile and a happy tone, with all the confidence of a baby caught with his hand in a cookie jar.

"Wh-Wh-What do you mean by that? I've got a job still. My mail bag's lyin' on the couch! See?"

Derpy gestures over to the couch where the mail has been lying all week. At this, Dinky whips around to face her mother, feeling wounded and betrayed.

"You're _still _trying to _lie_ to me? I know _everything,_ mom! I just found out at school. Everypony knew that you had lost your job. Everypony _except me!_ And when Diamond Tiara found out that I didn't know, she started making fun of me and you_ all over again!_"

"What do you mean?"

Dinky stomps over to her mother.

"I mean that last week, she called you a klutz, and… …and she said that the reason you're cross-eyed was because you_ gave birth to me!_ She called us a pair of _mess-ups, mom!_Or something like that, anyway!"

Breathing heavily, Dinky takes a moment to regain her cool. Taking a deep breath, letting it out again, and looking her mom in the face, she speaks.

"I might have Amethyst Star, but she's not like you, mom. I love you. I trust y-y-you. I thought we told each other everything._ Everything._ I thought you would tell me if you lost your job. I even asked you about it, but y-y-y… …you _lied to me!_"

Derpy, doing the best that she can to comfort her child, leans forwards to put her hoof on her back. Dinky jerks away.

The mother feels hurt by her daughter's actions, and backs away from the little pony. Tears are congregating in the pegasus's eyes now, ready to trickle down her face at any moment. Dinky begins stepping away as Derpy speaks to her.

"Dinkster… …I didn't want you to worry is all. I… …I thought you'd think I was a failure if I told you."

"Well, mom, now I do! But there's more than that! You're a _liar _also, mom! And you're a... ...a-a _bumbling, klutzy screw-up, too!_"

Derpy feels like she's just received a buck straight in the stomach.

From her own daughter.

Dinky, feeling tears coming on and not wanting to cry in front of her mother, runs to her door, opens it, and slams it shut as hard as she can as she hides herself in her room.

Derpy steps slowly over to the door and gently puts her ear up to it.

On the other side, Dinky's muffled sobs can be heard as she pours out her sorrow into a pillow.

* * *

It is now night-time in the Hooves household. Derpy has (somewhat) cleaned up the kitchen. There are still a couple of stains here and there, but the kitchen is mostly back to the way it was. Of course, that doesn't matter. Derpy is still feeling miserable.

She sulks out of the kitchen with her head hung low. Her daughter had called her those things.

Her_ own daughter_had called her those things. What's it matter, though? Her own daughter thinks she's a screw-up, and who knows?

Maybe she's right.

The little filly's hurtful words echo again and again in Derpy's head, like a broken record on a record player. She risks a glance over at her daughter's room.

Dinky hasn't come out all day.

Quietly, Derpy goes up to the bedroom and peers inside. In the dark, cavern-like place, she can barely make out the figure of Dinky curled up into a little ball, sleeping on top of her blankets. She's shivering without anything covering her.

Derpy silently steps into the little filly's cold room and walks up to the bed. Dinky's soft breathing is the only noise that can be heard. Upon closer scrutiny, Derpy can see that there are tear stains blotching her daughter's cheeks.

Despite it all, the screw-eyed pegasus somehow manages to make a brief smile twinkle onto her face, if only for a moment.

The mother carefully takes the blankets out from underneath her daughter and tenderly covers the sleeping filly with it, warming her with the soft fabric.

Then, softly, Derpy leans down and kisses her daughter on the forehead.

"Goodnight, Dinkster."

Then the grey-and-blonde pegasus then tiptoes out of the room, carefully shutting the door behind her and not making so much as a footstep be heard. When she turns around, she comes face-to-face with the mailbag which is lying on the couch.

The mailbag stares at her, taunting her with a challenge. It seems to grin at her, telling her she can't do it. Telling her that she's too clumsy to do anything right. She's just a loser. She can't do a single thing whatsoever correctly. In fact, if Derpy didn't know better, she'd say her advesary is laughing at her! Except mailbags don't laugh. Nonetheless, it is speaking to her.

That mailbag is telling her that she's a klutzy, stupid pegasus and that's all she'll ever be.

Derpy tries to shove the thoughts out of her head, but they beat her over and over, forcing her to submit to them like a slave.

She closes her eyes in loss, accepting her daughter being right. Accepting what everypony is always saying.

Accepting that she is just a loser…

…

…but…

…

_…but she's not!_

Suddenly, fierce determination flares up in her heart like a roaring fire. She grits her teeth in staunch stubbornness, refusing to accept defeat. Her crooked eyes scowl into a ferocious gaze! When did this pegasus become a lion?

She is not going to give up that easily. She is going to prove herself to her daughter!

She gathers the mail that has fallen out of the bag and shoves it back in!

She picks up the mailbag and shoulders it!

She goes to the arts-and-crafts drawer and grabs some blue paper, folding it into…

…a mail-hat.

Putting on her makeshift hat, Derpy walks over to the front door and grabs a lantern, lighting it so that she can see where she's going in the night.

Then she opens the door and boldly steps out into the darkness, lantern in mouth and resolute in her determination to win back Dinky!

* * *

Major awakes with a start, startled by something.

Several achingly long moments go by. The only sound that can be heard is the rhythmic ticking of the clock on her wall.

It's almost three in the morning.

As she stares at the clock, the mayor's thoughts slowly drift through the events of the day. She sighs in frustration. Apple Jack, the prize pony of Ponyville, had sent a note home today. The note said that she wasn't returning to Ponyville. Upon reading it, Applejack's closest friends had left town to see if they could get her back. Something terrible must have happened in Canterlot.

Restless with her thoughts, the brown-coated horse gets out of bed and walks down the hallway of the large wooden home, continuing to think about Apple Jack and wondering how soon they will be able to fix the town hall…

_Crash!_

The mayor jumps, alarmed at the sound. It came from outside. Could somepony be trying to break in to her house?

Thinking that this day couldn't possibly get any worse, Major walks up to and peers outside of an open window, in the direction that the noise came from. In her garden there is nothing out of the ordinary, it would seem. Just the same flowers, a couple of fireflies, and a somewhat heavy gust of hot summer wind. Aside from the wind, everything's peaceful and normal.

But wait!

The mayor peers closely, looking past her garden and out by her mailbox. She gasps. Somepony's messing with her mailbox!

"Hey!"

The intruder, startled, jumps backwards. In the split second it takes for the lantern that the trespasser was carrying to fall to the ground, Major can see her face. On top of her head is a blue, make-shift mailing cap. Tufts of yellowish-blonde mane can be seen sticking out from underneath it. On the face of the grey-coated pegasus are two misaligned, yellow eyes expressing worry and alarm at the same time.

Derpy.

"Derpy? What in the name of Celestia are you doing at this hour?"

Derpy, obviously not prepared to encounter anyone on her night-time odyssey, nervously tries to find an answer.

"Uh… …I uh… …I don't-"

"Spit it out!"

Derpy takes a moment to try and think of a response, but is suddenly distracted with alarm by what she sees.

"Oh my _goodness!_"

The lantern that Derpy dropped has landed right in the middle of Major's flowerbed! The fire has escaped its glassy prison, which has shattered against a rock, and is now devouring the mayor's petunias and roses and such.

"My flowers!"

Derpy intervenes, trying desperately to seem in control of the situation.

"No! Wait! I can fix it, mayor! I can fix it!"

Thinking quickly, Derpy kicks dirt onto the flowers, trying to extinguish the fire. She winds up kicking the flowers themselves instead. She sends the flaming bundle of dying daffodils through the window, over Major's head, and into her home. They land right in the middle of the wooden floor.

The poor old horse screams in panic and leaps out of the window, tumbling through the burning flowerbed and landing in front of Derpy, who is cowering in fear and covering her eyes with shame.

"I didn't mean to! I didn't mean to! I'm so sorry, ma'am! I'm sorry!"

The mayor gets ahold of herself and stands up, taking action.

"Derpy, now is _not _the time to panic! Go into town and call the nearest pegasus you can! Get them to send a storm cloud over-"

"Oh! I got it! I got it! I can do it!"

Before the mayor can finish giving her instructions, Derpy is up into the air and pulling a black cloud to the area above Major's home.

"No, Derpy! _No!_"

But it's too late. Derpy, absorbed on being the hero right now, flies up high above the newly-placed cloud. Clenching her hooves and focusing her cocked eyes on the cloud below, she does a dive-bomb right into the stormy black pillow in an attempt to pour as much rain as she can onto the mayor's house.

There is a loud, explosive crack and a blinding flash of white.

It would appear that we've changed locations altogether. One second, the mayor's house is only partially scorched from the fire inside. In the next moment, right after the lightning flash clears, the whole place is on fire. Bright, orange-yellow tongues of destruction are whipping left and right, entangling themselves all over the house and devouring it in a flood of heat, not a single drop of rain having fallen from the storm cloud.

Derpy swoops down to the ground and lands next to the mayor.

Both of them are staring in shock at the sight, at a loss for words. Suddenly, the mayor smells something really close burning. Where is it coming from? Uh-oh.

"Derpy! Your mailbag!"

Derpy looks down at the bag. Flames seem to be cackling with evil joy as they spread themselves over the mail, which is quickly catching on fire.

"_My mailbag!_"

Derpy jumps up in alarm and, not thinking clearly, darts down through the town and yells at the top of her lungs, waking up everypony.

"Help! Help! Somepony help! _Fire!_"

She stampedes across town, causing parcels and letters and all kinds of mail to tumble out of her bag, smoking and spouting short, whip-like strings of flame. A huge gust of air just so happens to be blowing over the town at that time, a gust of air which picks up the flaming projectiles and knocks them up against various stores and houses and other buildings, setting almost everything ablaze.

Seeing a river nearby, Derpy leaps into it, putting out the flaming mailbag. She only spends a moment submerged under the icy cool water. After she breaks the surface of the water, gasping for air, she apprehensively climbs the riverbank and risks a peek at the town. An awful sight greets her.

All of Ponyville is covered in flames. The orange-red terror seems to laugh and chortle as it hugs the town in a deathly embrace. Up in the air, a black canopy of smoke is encircling the sky above. The glow from the flame is highlighting the bottom of the clouds, giving the impression of a sea of yellow, orange, red, and black hovering over the town.

Everywhere on the ground, ponies are running and panicking, trying desperately to put an end to the madness. Fillies and colts alike are darting left and right. Utter chaos has enveloped Ponyville.

Through the crowd of panicking bodies, Derpy can see the mayor ordering several pegasi to fly up into the sky to stop the spread of fire. They take off without a second thought, valiantly soaring into the black abyss above in an effort to quickly cause rain to put out the fires. Eagerly, Derpy runs up to Major, seeking one final chance of redemption.

One final chance to show that she can be helpful.

One final chance to show her daughter that she is not a failure.

"Mayor! Mayor!"

The mayor turns to Derpy. A look of anxiety comes over her ash-covered face when she sees the perpetrator of this madness.

"Mayor, what do you-"

"Please, Derpy! Not now!" The mayor says as she looks around for more help (aside from the "help" standing right in front of her).

"But this is important!"

"Derpy, whatever it is, it can wait!"

"There has to be something I can do!"

"No, Derpy!"

"But I wanna help! Please let me help!"

"Derpy, we've had quite enough of your _so-called help_ for one day, so_ shut up, stop helping, and go away!_"

_Ka-Crack!_

There is a flash of lightning and subequent rumble of thunder as the mayor's words smack Derpy in the face, stinging her heart as if they actually were lightning.

Immediately following the lightning flash, there is a light downpour of rain soaking the town with relief, wiping away the fire. Unfortunately, the rain doesn't wash away Derpy's misery so much as spread the stain. Relief at this moment doesn't exist to Derpy. To our grey-coated heroine, the only thing that exists is the overwhelming feelings of defeat and failure which seem to surround her.

She realizes that she's goofed again. Possibly, she's messed up in the largest way that she ever will. And her daughter will never love her. How could anypony love a wreck like Derpy?

Poor, miserable Derpy.

"O-okay, m-m-ms. mayor, ma'am. I'm sorry."

Major realizes the pain that her words have caused and wishes she could have held her tongue, but it's too late to take them back now.

Derpy looks down at the ground and bows her head in shame. She opens her eyes and sees her reflection in a muddy puddle, looking back at her with the walled eyes of a klutz.

A clumsy, _retarded klutz!_

Derpy stomps on the reflection in fury, violently splattering it into wet chunks of mud. She drops to the ground and begins sobbing, the bursts of her tears imitating the jolting rythmn of her broken heart. Eventually, a crowd gathers around.

Murmurs and rumors spread like a flooding river, growing and growing until the whole town is drowned in an whispering undercurrent of talk. Eventually, a light sprinkling becomes all that's left of the actual rain, which clears a little to reveal the town's wrecked, soaked, blackened buildings and damaged properties along with its muddied streets beneath the pale moonlight.

And in the middle of it all is Derpy.

Poor, miserable Derpy.

She is hiding her head, covering it in shame with her hooves and her soggy paper mail cap. She doesn't care if anyone sees her. Let them look. Let them laugh! She deserves it.

She deserves it for being such a useless screw-up.

After a several long moments (in which the crowd still hasn't left, but remains gawking and staring in shock), Derpy notices someone calling her.

"Mommy! Mommy!"

She looks up at the crowd.

"D-D-Dinky?"

Dinky comes galloping up to her hastily through the gathering. She slams into her wet, muddy mommy, hugging to her as if she would be blown away.

"Mommy! I thought you were hurt! I was worried about you."

Derpy half-smiles and returns the loving embrace, unsure if Dinky means this or if she's just trying to make her mommy feel better.

"No. It's okay, Dinkster. I'm fine."

And for a split second, Derpy is fine. But a voice from the crowd almost immediately shatters the last hopeful moment of the day.

"Yeah, well what about the _rest of Ponyville?_"

Derpy looks up at the crowd, but is unable to pinpoint exactly who it came from. Another indignant voice speaks up.

"How exactly are we going to fix this mess _now,_Derpy?"

The murmuring grows a little louder, going from a faint whisper to the comparably larger noise of a babbling brook. Derpy shrinks back a little, preparing herself for the incoming barrage of insults.

"You should be _ashamed!_"

"You are an _offense _to Ponyville!"

"You're _just a klutz!_"

"Prize money can't fix _this _mess!"

"_Way to go!_"

The crowd's yelling gets louder and louder until all that can be heard is a volley of insults and scorning. The mayor tries calming them down, but it's to no avail. She is drowned out by the sheer volume of hatred pouring from the mouths of practically everypony.

The insults don't stop with the outside noise, though. There are piles upon piles of verbal abuse coming from inside of Derpy as well.

_'You're just a stupid klutz, Derpy. That's all you'll ever be. You stupid girl! Way to go! Great job wrecking the town, you stupid moron! You stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid screw-up! Now Dinky's gonna know for sure you're just an idiot.'_

Her self-loathing is suddenly interrupted by a small voice which pierces the crowd's noise like a dagger through a sheet of paper.

Like a lantern cutting through the blackness of a dark night.

"_Leave _my mommy _alone!_"

Dinky is standing as tall as she can, defiantly protecting her mother against the bombardment of words, which suddenly die out and are replaced with astonished silence.

There is a faint rumble of thunder.

Followed by more silence.

"You're all just _bullies!_ What's your_ problem,_anyway?"

A brown colt speaks up.

"Our problem is _her!_ Do you even _see _what your mother's_ done,_Dinky?"

The crowd grumbles in agreement, but Dinky isn't backing down.

"I see what my mommy has done, and it's pretty bad, but can't _you _see what _I _see?"

_'And it's pretty bad? Try awful!'_Derpy thinks to herself, ignoring the fact that her daughter is on her side. She can't see the fact that Dinky loves her, only the fact that her daughter sees her flaws. Dinky nonetheless continues her valliant charge against the words of the others.

"I see a pony who's sorry for what she's done! She's genuinely sorry and ashamed! Don't you think she's gone through enough for one night? Don't you think we all have? Why don't you all just back off and leave her alone?"

For a moment, Dinky feels like she's gained a victory over the harsh words of the townponies...

...and then the all-too-familiar voice of an enemy speaks up. The advasary's voice, like a monstrous apparition, looms up from the abyss to devour its prey.

"Why should we, _Dink?_"

Diamond Tiara emerges through the crowd like a phantom, glaring with pure, unfiltered hatred at Dinky, who feels quite like a knight with a wooden sword facing a dragon with steel teeth.

"It's _her _fault that this happened! We're just lucky nopony was_ killed._ You know what? We're lucky that that stupid _klutz _hasn't killed anypony_ before today,_ with all the bumbling things _she's_done!"

There is a mumble of agreement. Scanning the crowd for somepony, anypony to stand by her side, Dinky suddenly comes across a beacon of hope. She sees Amethyst Star's face. Smiling brightly, Dinky remembers what Amethyst said about being by her side. And boy, does she need it now more than ever! She gives Amethyst the look that says "Help me! Please! I need it! Do something!"

Amethyst mournfully gazes at Dinky. She tries opening her mouth to say something to help, but she closes it again, breaking eye contact. Not mustering up enough courage to stand out of the crowd, Amethyst sheepishly steps backwards, well aware that Diamond Tiara has a point. Somepony could have been killed.

If that isn't a stab to the gut, then what is? Dinky feels betrayed and broken. Utterly broken.

Dinky faces the monster again and struggles to talk back and fight Diamond Tiara's hurtful words, but she can't. She's too terrified. The glaring eyes of the bully meet hers. In those eyes, Dinky sees arrogance and hatred. Everyone else hears "We're lucky nopony was killed", but Dinky hears what that spoiled little monster is really saying:

_"What are you going to do now, lame-horn?"_

And the answer is...

...nothing.

That's it.

That is all there is to it: She'll never be able to defend her mommy. Because of her horn. Because she's worse than her mommy.

_'Because I'm just a stupid screw-up, too.'_

The clouds continue to rumble slightly with rain and showers as Dinky crouches down to her mother's side, no longer a fierce warrior but having become what she really is: a small child.

The two slowly stand up, despite all the horrible eyes looking at them, and begin walking to what's left of their home without saying a word.

* * *

Come the time that the sun rises, Derpy and Dinky are nowhere to be found. All that is left of them is a note, scratched in the sloppy handwriting of Derpy:

_"Weer sory that weer use les to you all and that weer allways doin stoopid stuf. Weere going to leev you so that we wont cos any mor trubl. Weer going into the Everfree Forrest. Dont foloe us._

_"-Dinky and Derpy_

_"P.S. - Im sorry that Im an idyot."_


	3. The Door in the Woods

**III: The Door in the Woods **

The Everfree Forest.

An endless maze of dense, twisted vegetation which sprawls everywhere deep in the wild part of Equestria.

For countless years, trees and plants have fought and strangled each other over even the smallest patches of sunlight: a rare necessity which is devoured completely by the oldest and tallest of the trees, leaving the smaller, younger saplings to starve and die in the dark undergrowth. Down there, several hundred feet below the suffocating canopy, dense vegetation has thrived on the dank forest floor and carpeted the putrid dirt with its tentacle-like web of roots, providing miserable but sufficient hiding-holes for the many savage creatures which inhabit this forest.

These animals are unrestrained in their wild ways, doing as they please and eating what they want, acting only out of self-interest and out of hunger or fear. The smallest of the creatures dart away in fear whenever predators come by, predators which are usually forced to abandon their hunt as even larger beasts stalk into the midst of the area, hungry and wild.

Occasionally, said beasts will themselves be succumbed to other predators, though they may not be animals. The lower vegetation itself is alive with poison and toxins of all kinds. From its Poison Joke plants to their carnivorous cousins, the Toxic Jesters; from the smallest of creatures to the largest of beasts; from the top of its canopy to the roots of its trees, the Everfree Forest is definitely, by all accounts, _not_ a place for inexperienced travelers.

'_So, why are two inexperienced travelers stumbling their way through the woods right now?' _A snake thinks to itself as it slithers out of the way of the two ponies: A Pegasus and her daughter, both cloaked and both carrying saddlebags. The snake hisses at them in annoyance and then continues on its way through the forest.

* * *

Having made up their minds to abandon Ponyville for good, Dinky and Derpy are now uncountable miles deep into the tangled web of plants, and are not looking back.

Well, except to see if they're lost, of course. Derpy is doing that just now, thinking this particular patch of woodland looks very familiar, almost as if-

_Thwack!_

"Ow!"

Another one. Derpy is sure that that must have been the fifteenth (or sixteenth?) tree limb she's run right into since coming into the woods. She's clumsy enough out in the open air, but this is a sheer nightmare. The Everfree Forest seems bent on making her bump into every branch, trip over every rock, and step on every thorn.

Looking down at her daughter, Derpy asks Dinky a question.

"Hey, Dinky - Id by dose bleedig?"

Despite her best efforts at restraining it, Dinky feels a chuckle break out of her mouth at the nasal-ish sound of her mother's voice. Derpy notices and makes an indignant expression.

"Hey! Wad's so fuddy?"

"Nothing, Mommy. Here, I have an ice pack in my saddlebag."

Reaching back around to the little brown saddlebag resting on her back, Dinky pulls out a small ice pack...

...Or, at least, what's left of one. The small purple-grey unicorn stares disdainfully at the pack, which now dangles limply from her hoof, the ice having melted into warm water.

Sighing in disappointment, Dinky trots over to her mommy.

"Here you go, Mommy. It's the best I've got. Sorry it got all melted."

"Id's okay dere, Dinksder. You couldn'd helb weder it melded or dot."

Dinky smiles half-heartedly at her mother, thinking that she's just lying to cover up how much she's disappointed in her. '_If my horn worked, I could have kept it cold for Mommy,' _she thinks to herself.

Picking the ice pack up in her hooves, Derpy places it on her nose and balances it as best as she can. Okay. Now all she has to do is carefully walk until her nose heals. After stepping only a few feet, however, she slams face-first into another tree, this time one with a large, thick trunk.

_Thwack!_

"Owww!"

The ice pack flops onto the ground and Derpy flops onto her butt, clutching her hooves to her nose and wincing in pain.

Suddenly, her closed eyes explode wide open and she screams in shock as she feels a sharp stinging sensation rivet up her spine. She leaps up into the air, flapping her wings wildly as the poor hedgehog she landed on waddles painfully away into the undergrowth, terrified of Derpy.

"Aaahh!"

_Crash!_

The ground comes rushing up to meet Derpy-

_Smash!_

She lands face-first into the awful-smelling dirt. A moment goes by as she tries thinking of what exactly happened. Standing up slowly and dizzily, her crooked eyes rolling about in her head, Derpy regains her bearings. She hears little birds chirping. The pegasus looks to her right.

A huge tree-branch has fallen onto the ground, no doubt from Derpy flying into it, and four baby birds, along with a mother, are walking away from a ruined nest. The mother bird takes a moment to screech at Derpy, who winces from the sharp pain in her ears. The birds then disappear into the underbrush and leave the two ponies be.

Dinky comes galloping up to her mommy, frantic with worry.

"Mommy! Mommy! Are you okay?"

Derpy looks over at Dinky and then sulks. The crash must have cleared up her nose, because she sounds perfectly fine now.

"Oh, it's hopeless, Dinkster! I'm just a stupid stupid screw-up and that's all I'm ever gonna be!"

The grey-coated pegasus slams her hooves into the ground in frustration. Her daughter immediately speaks up.

"Don't say that, Mommy!"

"Why not?"

"Because... ...Well, because..."

Dinky pauses and tries thinking of a reason. Derpy sighs and pats her daughter on the back.

"Thanks for trying Dinkster, but it's no good. I'm just too clumsy to help anypony. We're... ...We're better off here than in Ponyville because of me."

After several moments pass in silence, the two ponies decide that it is best if they continue on their directionless trek through the woods. Standing up, they continue walking.

* * *

The minutes turn to hours, which then dissolve into meaningless spans of time as the ponies trot constantly through the Everfree Forest, going from one miserable area to the next. The trees seem to close in about them menacingly, as if eagerly anticipating their slow demise as they drive more and more deeply into the forest. Derpy would fly up and see through the canopy, if she trusted herself to be able to, and Dinky would light a light using her horn, but she can't. So the two ponies simply walk in silence as the various creatures living in the woods stare at them with white eyes.

How long have they been walking? It's hard to tell. The woods distort and destroy all meaning of time, with the sun being hidden behind the treetops and with the maze of trees seeming eerily familiar in some areas, while others appear entirely foreign. As she and her mother are wandering down a path of their own, Dinky's thoughts take off in another direction.

At first, the wanderings of her mind are floating about lazily on a lake of boredom and loneliness. Bit by bit, however, they start drifting elsewhere. She finds herself thinking about Diamond Tiara.

Why is she so _mean?_

In her head, Dinky can see the sneering face of that little brat, smugly glaring at her.

What's her problem?

Is what she said true? Is Dinky really no better of a pony than her mother? Only with a different problem? Dinky looks up at her horn (or in the general direction), thinking about it. She never has been able to do anything with it. She's never lit so much as a single match, and she's never levitated so much as a feather.

She's just a lame-horn.

Thinking back to last night, Dinky remembers waking up and seeing the fires everywhere outside her window. Frantically, she'd rushed out of her room, calling for her mother, but Derpy was nowhere to be found. It was at this moment that Dinky realized her Mommy must have done this by accident.

She quickly ran outside, calling for her Mommy, but it was to no avail amidst the chaos all around. Ponies were running everywhere like bugs scattering from an anteater. It was pure insanity.

Then Dinky looked up into the clouds, and realized that...

...well, she _thought _she could save the town. She concentrated on a particularly large storm cloud and closed her eyes as tightly as she could, attempting to force the cloud to levitate. She had strained and strained her horn as much as she could, thinking only of the well-being of her mommy and the others...

...But it was useless. She's just a lame-horn, and she knows it.

Now, she continues walking. While the memories of last night's fire are boiling around in Dinky's head, Derpy is contemplating her own self-worth as well.

Why can't she do anything without causing something to go wrong?

It's always been like this. From the accident with the town hall to burning down all of Ponyville to when she was just a filly and she'd wrecked the house while trying to do the dishes. And let's not even _talk _about flight school. That was a disaster and a half on its own.

But does that make it right to leave Ponyville?

Well, does it? She's nothing but a problem (or at least, that's what everypony else seems to think of her as), so why stay? Why cause any more problems for anypony else when the town's much better off without her? If she's just a klutz and a screw-up, then she might as well accept it and move on with her life. Her life which will not have anything to do with anypony but her and Dinky.

Having felt assured that she is destined to forever remain a clumsy idiot, Derpy continues tediously trotting along the path...

...Yet, at the back of her mind, she still isn't ready to accept it.

In silence, the two plod along for what seems like an eternity. Strange birds chirp, creepy beasts growl, and the occasional hairy creature scurries across their path. Once or twice, Dinky is sure that one of the things is following her and Derpy. But it could just as easily be her imagination. She sighs in sadness. These horrible woods wouldn't be _half _as scary if it weren't for some of these noises.

"Hmm..."

Dinky, in an attempt to lighten the mood, begins humming a familiar tune to herself. She hums quietly at first, so as not to disturb any of the beasts which may lurk here. But as time goes on, she begins humming at a slightly louder volume, having grown confident that nothing's going to hurt her with her Mommy by her side. Her Mommy will protect her. Of this, Dinky is quite sure. Why? Because her Mommy is kind and brave and has wings that work.

While Dinky thinks she's just a lame-horn, she just _knows _that her Mommy is the best Pony in Equestria, whatever anyone else might say.

So she boldly continues humming her merry little tune in the dark woods, confidently and full of joy.

Eventually, Derpy glances down at her daughter. After a brief moment of confusion, the Pegasus joins in on the song, smiling and humming with her daughter.

After a time, a steady rhythm is picked up between the odd trotting of their hooves:

_Click.  
Clop.  
ClickClackClop._

_Click.  
Clop.  
ClickClackClop._

Tickled, Dinky and Derpy continue humming and sounding out the rhythm of their little song. The scary darkness of the woods becomes a mere blur in the back of their minds. Soon, Dinky takes the liberty of singing the first verse, not caring if anything hears her.

And so the two sing, starting with Dinky and alternating between lines.

"_Do you know the muffin mare?"  
"The muffin mare?"  
"The muffin mare. Do you know the muffin mare who lives on Drury Lane?"_

_Click.  
Clop.  
ClickClackClop._

_Click.  
Clop.  
Derpy's turn._

"_Of _course _I know the muffin mare."  
"The muffin mare?"  
"The muffin mare. _Of course_ I know the muffin mare who lives on Drury Lane."_

_Click.  
Clop.  
ClickClackClop._

_Click.  
Clop.  
Now Dinky:_

"_Well the thing about the muffin mare-"  
"The muffin mare?"  
"The muffin mare. The thing about the muffin mare – she's got..._

_Click.  
Clop.  
ClickClackClop._

_Click.  
Clop.  
ClickClack Got it!_

_...muffins in her mane!"_

The tempo picks up.

_Click and Clop and ClickClack Clop.  
Click and Clop and ClickClack Clop.  
Click and Clop and ClickClack Clop.  
Click and Clop and Derpy's turn!_

"_Well what a silly muffin mare!"  
"Muffin mare?"  
"Muffin mare! What a silly muffin mare – to do such a thing!"_

_Click and Clop and ClickClack Clop.  
Click and Clop and ClickClack Clop.  
Click and Clop and ClickClack Clop.  
Click and Clop and _Dinky's _turn!_

"_She thought that it would be real fun!"  
"Be real fun?"  
"Be real fun! She thought it would be real fun and add a little taste."_

_Click and Clop and ClickClack Clop.  
Click and Clop and ClickClack Clop.  
Click and Clop and ClickClack Clop.  
Click and Clop and Come on, Derp!_

"_Well I think it would taste real good!"  
"Taste real good?"  
"Taste real good! I think that it would taste real good – 'cause her hair is made of sweets!"_

_Click and Clop and ClickClack Clop.  
Click and Clop and ClickClack Clop.  
Click and Clop and ClickClack Clop.  
Click and Clop and now the Dinkster!_

"_Let's go see the muffin mare!"  
"The muffin mare?"  
"The muffin mare! Let's go see the muffin mare who lives on Drury Lane!"_

_Click and Clop and ClickClack Clop._

"_Who lives on Drury Lane!"_

_Click and Clop and ClickClack Clop._

"_Who lives on Drury Lane!"_

_Click and Clop and together now!_

"_Who lives... ...on Drury... ...Laaaaaaaaaaaaaaane!"_

And with that final note the song ends, leaving two very happy ponies smiling at each other despite being in such an awful place. The woods can bring their best shot, they can attack them with all the might of all the poisons and wild animals, but it won't kill this happy mood...

...like that cliff is about to.

"C'mon, Dinkster! Let's-"

"Wait! Mommy!"

"Wha-aaahh!"

Before she can find out what's going on, Derpy finds herself tumbling straight down the steep wall of a sandy cliff, smashing and tumbling against the sharp rocks and pulling up some of the dead twigs which are stuck in the cliff's side.

_Thud!_

"Ow!"

_Smack!_

"Ouch!"

_Bang!_

"Uhh..."

Here comes the ground again.

"Oh no. Aaahh!"

_CRASH!_

Derpy is lying, once again, at the bottom of a huge mess she's caused. Slowly, she sits up, feeling bruised and beaten. Several scrapes and cuts are all over her body, and a whole lot of sand is in her hair. Feeling the world spinning around her, the pegasus slowly stands up as her senses come back.

She looks around her for the first time, seeing where she's at.

She's at the bottom of a huge canyon, it looks like. All around her are towering walls of sand and dirt, preventing her from climbing out of this pit. Her wings are hurting too much, as well, making flight impossible for the time being. She's trapped down here. Straining her eyes as far as she can, she can make out the tiny figure of Dinky at the top of the cliff's side.

"Mommy!"

"I'm okay, Dinky! Just- Just stay up there while I-"

"Aaahh! Mommy!"

Derpy's heart sinks as she sees her little filly go careening down the side of the cliff at breakneck speed, shooting straight down towards the ground.

Only one shot.

Derpy stands weakly up and tries balancing on her two hind legs, running straight towards where it looks like Dinky's going to land and holding out her arms.

"I gotcha! I gotcha! I-"

She doesn't. Even as her mother is frantically trying to catch her, Dinky crashes into some bushes several feet away from the grey pegasus, who gasps in fear.

"No!"

She gallops quickly over to her daughter, ignoring the stinging cuts and scrapes all over her own body and focusing entirely on Dinky. _'This is my fault! This is all my fault! I couldn't catch her 'cause I'm a klutz and this is all my fault!' _She thinks, frantic with worry.

Upon finding Dinky sitting up in the bushes, Derpy quickly starts putting her hooves all over her daughter, checking for cuts and scrapes and bruises and injuries.

"Dinky! Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine-"

"Are you injured?"

"No, I-"

"How many hooves am I holding up?"

"One. I'm okay-"

"Are you bleeding? Oh my gosh! Are you bleeding?"

"_Mommy! _I said I'm okay!"

"Oh thank goodness!" Derpy doesn't waste a second in wrapping her hooves around Dinky and giving her a great, big hug. "I'm so sorry, Dinky! I'm sorry I didn't catch you! I messed up again and I'm so sorry!"

But Dinky isn't hearing a word that Derpy has said. She is too focused on her surroundings.

"Mommy, how are we going to get out?"

Derpy lets go of Dinky and looks around the area.

The cliff walls are way too steep to climb, and they are surrounding the two ponies like a towering fortress, impenetrable and menacing. Up on top of the cliffs, the Everfree Forest continues on all over. It's as if the cliffs are a deep gash in the forest's skin, a gash which hasn't yet healed.

Up ahead, the cliffs continue on for quite a distance before bending to the left. The answer is clear: The two ponies have to walk down the path which the cliffs form, hoping to find a way out amidst the rocky, barren floor. Derpy puts a hoof over Dinky's back.

"Stay close, Dinkster."

"Okay, Mommy."

With that, the two Equestrians hesitantly begin walking down the path formed by the towering cliffs. Despite her cuts, which are now stinging horribly, Derpy is able to go on walking, as long as there is hope for Dinky to get out.

As they trot wearily through the foreboding canyon, Derpy and Dinky notice that the ground not only consists of dead plants, rocks, and sand, but ruins. Every once in a while, they come across a fallen pillar, or a broken tower, and sometimes they see statues of different creatures.

There lies a horse head. Over there? A broken goat's horn. Even the ruined body of a dragon's statue has been wrecked and ravaged beyond repair. More and more statues of long-forgotten animals are scattered about the ancient canyon, all covered in sand, and all showing signs of age and wearing. Dinky finds herself sticking more and more closely to her mother as they continue their trek, scared of some of the statues' looks and of the ancient ruins.

As they progress through the canyon, both of them notice something that neither of them speak aloud: The canyon is getting more and more narrow, and the ground is sloping farther and farther downward.

Despite all the willpower that she can muster, Derpy finds herself unable to stop walking. What had started out as a search for a way out quickly transformed into a drawing urge. Something is pulling them to it, and they are unable to resist its command.

Eventually, the sun begins setting as the two Equestrians finally reach what it is that is pulling them:

A door.

A large stone door.

The canyon narrows down to the width of the door and then stops, hugging to it tightly and wrapping itself around the back of the large stone gateway.

Vines are growing all over the massive door, which is closed for the moment. All over the two gargantuan slabs of stone are ancient ruins and carvings, depicting strange sights and long-forgotten battles of the past, accompanied by images of a strange creature, one which looks like a pony with a spider's legs.

Near the bottom of the door are two pillars, each bearing a miniature statue which unnerves Derpy and Dinky alike.

Said statues have the heads of horses, deer antlers and goat horns, the arms of both lions and eagles, and the legs of lizards and goats.

Wrapped around the base of both statues are long tails consisting of scales and punctuated by a rabbit's tuft.

Spread out before the entrance of the doorway are the wings of the two statues, each with the right wing of a bat and the left wing of a pegasus.

Dinky is the first to voice the true name of the creature who these statues represent.

"D-D-Discord."

Yes. Discord. The spirit of chaos who had terrorized Ponyville and Equestria with his powers, nearly destroying all of the country with his chaotic and sadistic nature.

What worries both Dinky and Derpy alike, however, is not the statues themselves, but the mere presence of the statues. The fact that they are guarding a door all but yells who this door belongs to.

And this door, obviously created by Discord in ages long past, has been drawing them to itself for miles upon miles, calling out to them in a mystical, unseen voice.

_That _is what terrifies Dinky and Derpy.

Dinky lets out a whimper. Her mother briefly nuzzles her in comfort, despite feeling scared herself.

Suddenly, the door slowly begins opening with a grinding, rumbling noise. The two huge slabs of stone slide sideways, as if by command. Wishing to run away, far away, Dinky and Derpy try their hardest to flee, but they can't. They are glued to the spot, it seems. They are petrified in both terror and whatever spell is on the door as the massive gateway opens and reveals...

...

...Nothing.

Behind the door is a massive, black void of nothingness. The abyss greets Dinky and Derpy with sheer horror and they can't look away from the monstrous gaze of it. It is as if infinity itself is contained within the doorway, unyielding to the command of any and beckoning Dinky and Derpy with its cold emptiness.

Slowly, Dinky takes a single step towards the opening. Her mother follows suit.

'_Mommy! I can't run!'_ she wants to say _'The door is making me go to it!'_

But no words come out. All she can do is enunciate a single squeal of terror, her tiny voice breaking and echoing into the blackness as she takes another singular step towards it.

'_Come on! Just run! What are you waiting for!'_ Derpy thinks to herself as she grits her teeth, closes her eyes, and tries to resist the pull of the Door's blackness, but to no avail; her feet rebel against her mind and take several more steps towards the emptiness.

The two ponies are brought to the brink of the door as several rocks are knocked over the edge by their hoofs. The rocks go careening down into the blackness below. Dinky notes that there is no sound of the rocks hitting the bottom. Unable to take it anymore, the small unicorn finally breaks the spell's hold on her mouth and screams.

"_Aaahh!"_

Just then, as if that singular scream broke the door's concentration, the spell is lifted from Dinky and Derpy and they stand on the brink of the darkness.

Shocked into relief, they are unable to take advantage of this opportunity, and instead stay standing and staring into the black void in terror.

Just then, another rumbling sounds as Dinky and Derpy turn around and look up at the walls of the canyon. Boulders come careening down upon the two ponies, threatening to kill them immediately. An avalanche has started.

"Dinky! Look out!"

Derpy flings Dinky up onto her cloaked back and, before she has time to think about what she's doing, she flies to the only safety she can think of: The doorway.

Upon entering the looming black void, Derpy realizes what she's done, but it is far too late to go back. Instantly, an overpowering weariness overcomes Derpy and, despite her best efforts to stay floating in the air, she faints and goes falling further down into the infinite blackness, which closes about her like the ocean.

The last thing Derpy sees before she faints completely is the sliver of light coming from the doorway.

It slams shut violently and Derpy loses all consciousness as she and Dinky (who has also fainted) go falling down into the empty void all around them.


	4. Welcome to the Broken Land

**IV: Welcome to the Broken Lands**

...

...There is nothing anywhere...

...

...No sight, no sound, no taste, no feel, no smell...

...Nothing...

...

...Wait a second...

...

...Her head feels fuzzy...

...

...What is... ...What is going on?

...

...Everything is black...

...And...

...And she still can't hear anything...

...

...Wait...

...

...Yes she can!

_"Hey!"_

...

...A very faint voice is calling. Hang on...

...she can feel now. Her sense of touch has faded back. That's good.

What can she feel?

...

...Stones. She is lying on a stone floor. It's pretty big, too. The stones are big, anyways. She has no clue how big the floor is. Her eyesight is still black. Wait! She can see! Are her eyes starting to work again?

...

...Yes! The blurry room is fading through the blackness. Now she can see the smeared colors of the world around her...

...

...a pretty bleak world at that. Between the grey, black, and pale colors of her surroundings, she can only see the occasional deathly green. But the green isn't solid. The green shapes are dancing and moving about really fast. Why are they dancing? She can't hear any music. That's just strange.

"Uuhhh..."

What in Equestria was-

...

"Oh. That's just my voice."

Whew! She'd startled herself pretty badly, there. Oh - more good news: She can see clearly now! And smell, too! Yuck! This place smells nasty. It smells all musty and dusty and rusty. From the looks of it, she's in a circular tower-like room. Big stones are everywhere: on the floor, on the walls, on the ceiling, _everywhere_. Those dancing green figures from earlier? Those were just green flames coming from the torches all around the room's walls. In between each of the torches is a window. Good. She can see (and, unfortunately, smell) her surroundings completely. Okay, now all she needs to do is stand up and...

"No! Hey you stop! You stop now!"

What in in the world?! Who said _that?!_

"Hey you stop! No!"

_"Aah! _Wait!"

Eeeww! Gross! What's this sticky black string all over?! Aah! More of it! It's getting all over her!

_"Eeww! Yuck! Gross! Help! Help! I'm stuck! Somepony he-"_

Suddenly, a hoof smacks over her mouth, silencing her. The voice (which, she notices, is a girl's... ...and pretty annoying) speaks again, only in a whisper.

_"Hey you not talk loud! You be quiet! They hear you if talk loud! You staying quiet!"_

What in the _world?!_

* * *

After taking the plunge through the door in the woods, Derpy (and, though she didn't know it yet, Dinky) had appeared in a large room, which has already been described. The massive stone walls of the circular tower create a very gloomy atmosphere in conjunction with the green torches and...

...black webs.

It's true. All over the room there are thick black webs. They aren't just tiny spider webs, however, made by small things like tarantulas or goliaths, which are dwarfed by the creature that made these black chords sprawling around everywhere.

As one can probably guess, Derpy has found herself tangled completely in these webs just after standing up to get a better look at her surroundings. In her panic, she nearly yelled out and caused quite a disturbance in the area. Before she could do much damage, however, a black, hole-filled hoof had slammed itself over her mouth to silence her.

Now, Derpy is slowly turning around, trembling and sweating, to face who it was that shut her up.

And she nearly screams again when she sees her.

There, tangled in the spider web just like Derpy, is a changeling. Or at least, the top half looks like a changeling, with the black fur, blue eyes, hole-filled skin, and that plain awful smell! But...

...but the back legs...

..._The back legs!_

Rather than seeing a Pony's hind, Derpy sees that of a spider. A sac-like stinger is attached to a bloated lower half, out of which are eight hairy (but still hole-filled) legs. The only thing that is keeping the spider-changeling-type-thing-oh-my-gosh-it's-so-scary-Derpy-really-hates-this-situation...

...The only thing keeping the "changeling" tied down is the thick webs, which, it seems, have been wrapped all over the spidery half of the pony's body and ensnared it completly.

Derpy lets out a whimper of pure terror as her lopsided pupils shrink to the size of dots.

Then, the monster speaks again in her annoying, girly voice (something very unfitting, Derpy thinks, in spite of the horror she's feeling).

_"You came through door, yes?"_

Door?

Door!

Derpy slowly breathes in and releases her breath and then quickly nods, finally understanding. Or at least she's trying to understand. She does remember a big stone door with statues of Discord (she shudders) and with vines all over it.

The spider-changeling laughs coldly in her annoying voice, creating an odd mixture of fear and aggrivation. Then she continues speaking _(in a whisper)_to Derpy, who by now is guessing that either the changeling didn't pass kindergarten or doesn't have English as her natural language.

Probably the second.

...

...Probably.

_"You came through stone door. Big stone door. You came in and poof! You here. You fainted, yes? Yesss... ...You fainted. You fainted and fell down, down, down, down. You went in blackness. Now you come out and poof! You here. You lucky. Most ponies don't winding up here. Most winding up other place in castle. You and little unicorn lucky you-"_

"_Dinky!_" Derpy says in a muffled tone - the hoof is still over her mouth - as she remembers everything.

Her eyes frantically scan the room and land directly on target: There, lying curled up on the hard stone floor, underneath a weathered cloak and saddle-bag, is Dinky. Her mother's lopsided eyes begin tearing up in worry. Is she dead? Is she hurt? Is she okay?!

Suddenly, the unexpected happens.

The instant that Derpy begins struggling against the webs to reach Dinky, she hears a hiss and the "changeling's" hoof jerks away from the pegasus's mouth, as if in pain. _Snap!_The webs immediately break away and Derpy goes tumbling forewords, summersaulting over Dinky and slamming herself into the wall, upside-down. Derpy blinks once or twice and then sees her daughter looking up at her with her tiny face in a smile and her wide eyes full of relief.

"Mommy!"

The small unicorn runs up to her upside-down parent and hugs her tightly, ignoring everything around her and not even noticing the scary webs or horrible windows or ominous stones.

This beautiful moment is quickly put out, though, by a retching noise coming from behind. The two Equestrians turn and see the changeling clutching her stomach in sickness and acting like...

...well, like a five-year old acts whenever his mommy kisses his daddy.

Dinky, however, doesn't seem to notice the immature behavior. All she sees is the grotesque monster tangled in the web in the middle of the room. Shrinking back, the unicorn hides behind Derpy, who is now right-side up, having adjusted herself. Indignantly, Derpy scowls at the creature.

"What's so gross?!" She angrily demands.

Acting as if suppressing a sickness, the creature finally allows its revulsion to pass away.

"It nothing. Nothing at all."

The "changeling's" eyes suddenly widen as an idea comes into her head. She looks up at Dinky and Derpy and smiles slyly. This only makes Dinky all the more terrified as she backs closer to the wall.

"You don't knowing where you are, yes? I tell you. I telling you if you getting me down. Then we running away! Then we finding the door and running away."

For a brief moment, Derpy stares at the creature.

Then...

..."What?"

The spider-changeling slaps her head, indignant, and then repeats herself, speaking very slowly this time.

"You don't knowing where you are, yes?... ...I tell you... I telling you _everything _if you getting me down... ...Then we running away... ...Then we finding the door and running away... ...You understanding me, yes?"

Derpy looks even more confused than before.

"I _really _have no idea what you're saying."

The spider-changeling is getting very angry at this point and gives up talking to Derpy and instead faces Dinky, who shrinks back even more. By now, only an eye and her little horn are poking out from behind Derpy's back.

"You listening, little one! You understanding me, yes?!" She says in frustration. Dinky slowly nods, still afraid to speak. "Fine! You telling your Mother what I saying!"

Dinky looks up at her mother and quickly relays the message, still scared of the changeling.

"She says that since we don't know where we are, she'll tell us all about this place if we cut her down from the spider-webs. Then she'll lead us to the door that took us here and we'll go back."

Hmm. The idea seems like a good one, a win-win situation, so to speak, but... ...there's a catch. There has to be a catch behind this. There's simply _no way_that going home will be that simple. But nonetheless...

...is it like they have a choice? They're stranded here, in another world, far from home, with little food, and (she's assuming) with hundreds or thousands more of these spider-changeling-type-things running around. Derpy faces the changeling again and, after a few seconds of thinking, nods her head and holds out her hoof.

"You've got a deal."

The changeling just stares at Derpy's hoof for a moment, and then glares at her.

"What you doing?! Getting me down!" She impatiently says.

Derpy, confused, looks like she's about to grab the webs and try ripping them apart, when suddenly she's interrupted by her daughter. "Hey! Not until you tell us where we are!"

What a little brat! What a spoiled little brat! Of all the miserable, rotten, low-lives to find their way through the door, why did it have to be _these two?_ Clearly frustrated at the two Equestrians, but seeing that she has no other options (after all, the guards will return at almost any second) and that she's at the mercy of the two strangers, the spider-changeling gives in. "Fine I telling you, but then _you getting me down!_Looking around the room. What you seeing?"

For the first time, Derpy actually takes a _good_look at her surroundings. All around the stone tower, there are windows. Six windows, to be precise, each one opening up to reveal a land barren and desolate. Black-and-brown storm clouds loom up outside and cover the entire land as far as the eye can see, which isn't very far, considering that the crooked brown rocks of the canyon side block the view out several miles away.

Outside of each individual window, there can be seen a small town in the distance. It's as if every opening in the tower has a designated town it is constantly watching. The towns themselves aren't like Ponyville at all. They are made of straw, sand, and brick. From their gloomy chimneys rises black smoke which stretches to the sky and, like the trunks of trees, meets the billowing canopy of storm clouds seamlessly.

Inside of the tower itself, there are also six torches with burning green flames, illuminating the room in a gloomy light and positioned between each of the windows. Dead in the middle of the room, below the trapped changeling, is a circular door made of solid steel. It is altogether very unfriendly looking.

"Wh-What is this place?" Derpy says, her voice having been caught by the gloomy sight of the world around her.

The changeling who is obviously used to this miserable sight, though not to fond of it, speaks with a tone that is both calm and angry. "You being in the Broken Land. It not made by Discord, but trapped by Discord."

"Discord?" Dinky asks in fear.

"Yes. Discord. Long ago, before anypony can remembering, Discord took this land. Using his blacking magic, he sealed it in his own world. There are seven doors leading to this world, but only one that leading out. That door is being down in the throne room."

"Then why didn't we wake up in the middle of the castle, where the door is?"

Another cold laugh escapes the mouth of the spider-changeling-type-thing as she mocks Dinky. "You silly unicorn. Discord made the doors, remember? Even before he making chaos his primary goal, he liked toying with the chaos. The door puts you in the castle. It putting you wherever it wanting to put you. Nopony can tell how or where the Door will dropping them off, which meaning there are guards. There are lots of guards. We having to run quickly to making it to door! So you cutting me down now, unicorn, and you getting me out!"

At this, Dinky shyly sulks away from the changeling, who is confused, worried, anxious, and angry all at once.

"What you doing?! Stopping this now! Don't you knowing any cutting spells? Helping me now! Hurry! The guards coming soon!"

Her speech dissolves into an endless stream of babble in her own language. Strange syllables and odd vowels bounce and bubble together amid the spray of words coming out of her own mouth now. All of this is accompanied by violent gestures and jabs in the air. What is wrong with these travellers?! Soon King Damean and all of his men will be coming to this tower to execute her, and this little brat is shy?! Now is not the time to be shy! Now is the time to act!

Finally, however, she calms down and takes a deep breath, deciding to cooperate peacefully.

"Why you not getting me down?"

Dinky tries talking.

"Be... ...well be-because... ...because-"

"Speaking now! We having not much time, you little brat!"

Now _that _wasn't called for! Rising to the defense of her handicapped daughter, Derpy stands between her and the monster tied up in the webs. "Hey! Don't yell at my daughter like that! She can't help it. She can't help you because her horn won't work, okay? There! I said it! Now, is there any other way to cut down those webs?"

But the changeling isn't focusing on Derpy or what she's saying. She's thinking of something else entirely. Already, a plan is boiling in her constantly-tinkering, arachnid-like mind. The brat can't cut her down because she doesn't have magic. But magic is the only thing that can cut these webs, unless you're a changeling-type (who _isn't_tied up)...

...But there _is _magic here. These two have magic. She can feel it, she can see it, and it is (to her) altogether disgusting. It's poisonous and it's dangerous, but it will have to do. Time is pressing. She may not get this opportunity ever again, and she must act now or never.

Slowly, a grin spreads over the face of the changeling-type, and then a laugh comes out of her mouth. It grows. At first it is a sputtering babble of spit as some sort of humor hits her, but it transforms and grows and swells until it's become nothing short of a full-fledged, mean-spirited cackle. The monster then speaks, not even hiding her hatred of the two Equestrians from them. "You joking me, right?! That is being ridiculous! A unicorn who can't using magic?! Ha ha ha ha ha! That is being the funniest thing I hearing in years!"

Realizing that she's making fun of her, Dinky backs away and faces the wall, hiding the tears which are coming. '_No. No no no no no no no! Not here, too! Not here. Everywhere I go, ponies make fun of me! Not here, too..._' Dinky thinks to herself.

Sobs come bursting out of her silently as she buries her head in the wall.

The changeling keeps making fun of Dinky all while her mother, who looks confused and angry, tries to understand exactly what it is that the monster is doing. While her mask of humor is erupting onto her face, the "changeling's" thinking is far from humorous. '_Come on, you stupid pegasus! I'm making fun of your daughter, so come on! Take the bait! get mad at me! Yell at me! Do something! Or do I have to spell it out for you?!' _In spite of her hidden anger, deep down the changeling feels another emotion: actual humor. Part of her actually is laughing at the poor filly's condition. Her cruel heart is wicked and unmerciful, and she uses it to fuel her mocking.

Just when she's about to give up on any chance of escape, Derpy-

"Hey! Don't you _dare_ make fun of my daughter, you big _bully!_"

-takes the bait.

Rearing up and snorting with fury, Derpy drags one of her front hooves across the ground like a bull, ready to defend her daughter. Derpy feels like, if anyone deserves to be made fun of, it's _her,_ not Dinky. Dinky is her little angel, and if anypony wants to mess with her, they've got _another thing coming!_

The changeling, relieved that Derpy finally understands what's going on, faces Derpy and directs her words to the pegasus now. "Oh, you don't liking me laughing at your stupid daughter?! Well, come on, then! Come getting some! _Hitting me now! Do it!_"

"Much obliged!" Screams Derpy as she charges at the changeling with full, unhindered fury.

Just what the spider-like monster wanted her to do.

She smiles and, just as Derpy is about to reach her, she yanks on some of the webs and pulls herself up, just out of Derpy's reach. Derpy, shocked and confused, goes careening through a thick tangle of black webs, which give away with a loud _snap! _as she breaks all of them away from the changeling, who instantly falls to the ground and lands on her eight spider legs, which are free at last.

Without wasting a second, she shoots a web at Derpy, who is no longer angry but terrified, and webs Dinky up as well. Before either one can think, both of them are dangling down from the ceiling right in front of the changeling, who now laughs at them. Before anything else happens, the changeling disguises herself. Her rear spider legs are replaced with two grey hooves with a bubbly cutie mark, her body is covered in grey hair, and a blonde mane appears over her head, directly above her two gold-colored eyes, both of which are now staring directly at Derpy and Dinky with an evil smirk.

Gasping in shock, Dinky finally realizes the whole thing was a trick, a ploy to get her and her mother trapped and put in place of the monster.

"I would like to thank you for your co-operation," she says in her annoying, girly-voice, "But now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to leave this miserable place. Don't worry about a thing - my father, King Damean, always makes sure his slaves stay alive long enough to be worked to death!"

She lets loose a brief, girly giggle as she trots down to the trapdoor and opens it, vanishing down into the castle, leaving Dinky and Derpy tied up in her black webs and dangling helplessly from the ceiling of the tower.

* * *

Several minutes pass like days, or so it seems to our two heroines. They gave up struggling against the webs long ago, not quite sure how they were broken earlier, and not quite sure how they can be broken now. Other than the initial struggle to free themselves, nothing much had happened. At one point, they had heard the sounds of a fight down below in the castle. Shouts and cries echoed everywhere, along with (Derpy shudders to think of it) the pitter-patter of thousands of spider-like legs. Then there was silence for quite some time as both of the Equestrians listened quietly for anything at all.

_Click!_

Derpy and Dinky are jolted out of their trance-like state of boredom as they hear the trap-door below them unlock. They look down and see the steel door creak open and then _slam_onto the ground as a white unicorn dressed in black armor emerges into the area.

When he climbs up into the room, he looks up at the ceiling and gasps in shock.

"Oh my gosh. _Oh my gosh!_"

A spider-changeling, dressed in similar armor, emerges from the trap-door. He speaks to the unicorn in his black language, the syllables bouncing and tumbling off of one another as they crash into consonants and vowels in his deep, grumbling undercurrent of speech.

The unicorn, not taking his eyes off of Dinky and Derpy, points a hoof up at them and speaks in the same language, but with a lighter tone than the spider-changeling, who looks up at the ceiling. Scowling with a grim frown on his face. He barks some foreign command to the unicorn and then quickly rushes down the trapdoor.

Well, obviously, Dinky and Derpy aren't supposed to be here.

The unicorn speaks to them in plain English now, his voice calm yet hurt, as if he regrets what he has to do.

"Don't move. I have to cut you two down."

He focuses his horn on them and, with some effort, cuts them down from the ceiling. They tumble onto the hard stone floor with a loud banging sound and then wearily get to their feet.

_Clink!_

"What?"

Derpy looks down at her hooves. They are now chained up and locked with iron cuffs. Dinky is in a similar predicament. The unicorn looks up at the guard.

"Why are you doing this?! Let us go!"

"I can't! I wish I could, but I can't. Now: no more questions. I'm under orders. You're coming with me."

"Where are you taking us?" asks Derpy.

"To the king's throne room."

With a brilliant flash of light, the three ponies teleport out of the tower.

* * *

_Poof!_

...and into the king's throne room.

Derpy and Dinky take in the horrific sight all around them. Crawling all over the massive stone walls, on the floor, and across the multitude of black webs which dangle from the black abyss where the ceiling is, are spider-changelings. All of them are fierce. All of them are scary. All of them are wearing the same black armor. The horrid noise of their infinite footfalls is matched only by the sight sitting right in the middle of the throne room, on the throne itself.

Slouched over below a golden light in the ceiling which illuminates his throne, with a grim stone crown and a black scepter in his hoof, is a huge spider-changeling. His ancient face shows signs of scars and battles, and his grim green eyes are dull and faded. His blue mane is oily and nasty-looking, and two small, crooked fangs protrude from his upper lip, which is covered in the same black fur which blankets the rest of his hide.

The white unicorn who took Dinky and Derpy to this hive of terror steps forward and bows to the King, taking off his helmet. He then speaks in the language of these spider-changelings. Although Dinky and Derpy can't tell what's being said, they know it's about them, based on the gestures the unicorn keeps making back at them.

Then King Damean speaks, only in English. He speaks it more fluently than his daughter, and the only hindrance to Dinky and Derpy's understanding of him is his thick accent, which bellows and rumbles with evil as he talks.

"What are your names, intruders upon my land?"

But neither of the Equestrians speak. They are too enveloped in terror to utter so much as one syllable. The King does not take to this very well. He gestures to someone hidden in the black corner of the room. They step foreword, bearing a massive sword. The King takes it and then jumps off of his throne.

_Whomp! _he lands, causing the massive room to shake as several boulders fall down from the ceiling, some of them the size of Dinky. King Damean now stops, standing mere inches from the two panicked travelers.

"Now, it would be a shame," he rumbles at them "to have to spill your innocent blood on my throne room floor. Tell me why you are here, and we may have to avoid that predicament."

Shyly, Derpy begins to talk.

"W-W-We... ...We come from... ...Equestria. We went in the Everfree Forest and found a door... ...When we went through it, we woke up in your tower up there-" At this, she gestures to the ceiling, a faint shudder going through her as she sees the multitudes of spider-changelings dangling from the ceiling. "-and your daughter! She tricked us into cutting her lose and-"

But the king had heard enough! He yells in rage and slashes his sword downwards, cutting the ground beside him in venomous hate. Then he looks at down at the two "invaders".

"So! You two are the ones who let that miserable fool escape! Because of you, we've lost a valuable prisoner! I don't like that, you see. Not one bit! _I think I may have to do something about that!_"

Whatever he planned to do, however, Derpy never finds out. Earlier, when the rocks fell down from the ceiling, one of them had landed right on her chains and broken them. How it didn't hurt her or Dinky, she's not sure, but what she is sure of is that there is not a moment to loose.

"Hang on, Dinky!" she screams as she takes off, a heavy weight now in her side saddle-bag. Maybe King Damean would have made sure her wings were chained up, had they not been covered by her cloak and saddle-bags at first, but he was in a foul mood since his rebellious daughter's escape, and he wasn't thinking as clearly as he normally would have. Because of his unclear thoughts, he can only watch in shock as Derpy kicks off, shoots up to the sky-light above the king's throne, and breaks through the glass, sending millions of pieces shattering down onto the king's throne and enraging him even more.

Just when he is about to send guards after her, however, he hears the voice of the small unicorn.

"Mommy! Mommy!"

He turns his head to see Dinky still standing there, still chained up, and with tears in her eyes. All of the spider-changelings seem to shrink away slightly from Dinky at this moment for reasons unknown. But the king chuckles and leans down to Dinky, who forgets all about her mommy and stares directly into the eyes of the tyrant.

"So, that is your mother? Do you... ...love... ...your mother, young child?"

Dinky nods as best as she can, in spite of her petrifying fear.

The king roughly chuckles again. "Of course, you do. Of course, you do." Quickly, the king jerks his head away and looks at two of the spider-changelings in the room. He barks orders at them in his foreign language. Obeying their king's orders, the two drag Dinky off and to the jail cells elsewhere in the castle.

Then, the king lumbers over to his black throne and sits down on it, his body illuminated on the top by the brown sunlight pouring in through the hole in the ceiling. '_This could be it._' He thinks to himself. '_This could be what I need to finish it. To finish it all..._'

A rumbling chuckle escapes his mouth again as he begins creating a plan in his arachnid-like mind, smiling with malice and slouching on his chair.


End file.
